Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

Gert Hildebrand of Qoros.

A few years ago, Chinese cars were considered a risk on Europe’s streets—at least to their occupants. The Landwind SUV and the Brilliance BS6 sedan fared so poorly in the vaunted Euro-NCAP crash tests that their careers were over pretty much before ever beginning. Skeptics believed that Chinese cars would never get off the ground again in Europe. That perception has been changed in one swoop by the new brand Qoros, which has won the test’s coveted five-star rating with its Qoros 3 sedan.

Qoros, a joint venture between Chinese carmaker Chery and Israeli investor Quantum, tapped former Mini chief designer Gert Hildebrand the engineering skills of Magna Steyr to create the 3. Following its sparkling Euro-NCAP performance, now everybody wants to be associated with the Chinese. That includes Michigan-based supplier TRW, which makes airbags, stability control systems, and anti-lock brakes for Qoros. The company has issued a press release praising the Chinese carmaker’s engineering and quality standards: “We are proud to be a partner of Qoros.” Times have changed quickly.

The importance of the Euro-NCAP test proves it can potentially dispel stigma, but sometimes it doesn’t always cut positive. Daimler found this out the hard way earlier this year after facing a public lashing for the mediocre three-star rating of the Citan light commercial vehicle. The Citan, of course, is a slightly tweaked Renault Kangoo, which had received a four-star rating years ago. But while the Euro-NCAP results made a few negative headlines, they haven’t hurt sales.

Now Daimler is adding more powerful engines and a somewhat ungainly long-wheelbase version with seven seats. While the Citan comes across as a quick-fix solution to fill a gap in the lineup, Daimler has bigger plans for the upcoming V-class, which replaces the not-for-U.S. Viano. Next week, the company will release details of the new model, which was developed under the eyes of former AMG chief Volker Mornhinweg. I hear that the V-class may actually be offered in the U.S. as well. Stay tuned.

An alternative to the ’Ring?

A few months ago, I wrote about the opening of the Bilster Berg racetrack; the project has taken off extremely well, and several carmakers have used it for car launches. (Most notably, Porsche introduced the latest 911 Turbo to the press there.) Back when it first opened, I wrote that the 2.6-mile track is designed for lap times just under two minutes. That turned out to be a very conservative estimate. The most recent track record was 1:36, achieved in an Audi R8 GT LMS, piloted by Thomas Mutsch. That time has now been topped by Michael Frey with a 520-hp Oreca-Judd LMP2 car; he managed 1:34.7 on October 8. The Le Mans racer belongs to the Swiss team Race Performance.

In Le Mans and at Bilster Berg, the Oreca-Judd was supported by Munich-based engineering house MVI Group, headed by Rainer Kurek. MVI Group just teamed up with Bilster Berg to develop the track into a testing and proving center for the auto industry. It will compete with the Hockenheimring, ATP Papenburg’s proving grounds; the Bosch-owned Boxberg proving grounds; and, of course, the Nürburgring. The ’Ring is perhaps the most widely known, but it has made embarrassing headlines in the past few years as politicians have attempted to attach it to an amusement park and to bankrupt it.

Autobahn Tested: Audi RS4

Too bad you can’t get it in the U.S. . . . I just drove the Audi RS4 Avant for two weeks on its home turf in Germany. Based on the A4 Avant, it comes with an appropriately wide body, massive air intakes, and hardware borrowed from the RS5—including the naturally aspirated, 450-hp 4.2-liter V-8. The zero to 60 sprint takes four seconds, and the RS4’s top speed is governed at 174 mph. My test car went a bit faster; Audi’s governors are typically set in a generous manner.

Despite its heft, the RS4 Avant is eager to play and easy to control up to its limits of adhesion. It is the perfect all-rounder for a perfect world without speed limits. The race to its lofty 8500-rpm redline is complemented by a V-8 note of appropriate blackness.

I prefer the RS4 Avant to any other RS-badged Audi, even the stunningly beautiful RS7 Sportback. The RS history is an Avant history; Audi’s high-performance sub-brand launched with the RS2 Avant in 1994, and its ultra-fast station wagons have inspired other carmakers to follow suit. We say the more high-performance people- and stuff-carriers there are, the more happiness there can be in this world.